eneral

sychology

What is informational feedback?

Informational feedback refers to knowledge of the results of task performance or the appropriateness of one's actions.  The effects of feedback alone are often equivocal.  Some investigations find that feedback produces pronounced performance increments, and other studies report weak or no effects (e.g., Hall et al., 1972; Kazdin, 1973).  Feedback accompanied by strong appetitive or aversive consequences usually has a more powerful effect on behavior than feedback alone.  Soldiers are especially responsive to feedback when promotions, praise, or the outcome of competitions depend on their performances.

Feedback in conjunction with external consequences is  critical to the success of many training programs.  Yet, even a superficial examination reveals that most trainers and educators are unaware of the fundamentals of feedback delivery.  Feedback systems, inimical to student learning abound.  Five of the most important aspects of feedback are immediacy, predictability, specificity, the proportion of positive to negative evaluations, and whether the evaluation is norm or competency based.

Immediate versus Delayed Feedback
Delay of feedback is the time between when the soldier performs an action and when the evaluator or training device administers feedback.  Feedback that occurs shortly after a response is usually more effective in promoting learning than delayed feedback.  Immediate feedback is principally important for learning new tasks.  It is often advisable to gradually increase the delay of feedback once the soldier acquires the skill.

Predictability of Feedback
A common lamentation of instructors is that students only study or practice when faced with the immediate threat of a test or evaluation.  Then, just before the dire date, frenzied activity, sweat, and cramming culminate in an all out stretch to avoid a bad assessment.  This is the way to get ulcers, but not to train effectively.  Many studies report that massing studying or practice into short time frames impairs performance (e.g., Baddeley & Longman, 1978).  Massed practice also robs the student of the pleasure of learning new information and makes the training experience an agony.

Instructors usually attribute desperation cramming to a shortcoming of the student's personality.  Derogatory labels, such as irresponsible, lacking in self-control, or unmotivated, are customarily put forth as explanations of the students' inabilities to pace themselves.  The value of insulting labels is highly questionable, but is not the most troubling aspect of this practice.  Trainers and educators must be forever vigilant not to allow verbal labels to substitute as an explanation of student behavior.  Labeling a student as unmotivated does nothing to explain why the student does not maintain a consistent study pattern. Why do students wait until the last minute to study?  A brief digression into the field of animal learning can provide insights into this all too common occurrence.

To simulate student cramming, place a pigeon in an operant conditioning chamber, equipped with a response key, a food delivery system, and a clock.  Then, set the clock to begin when the bird receives corn.  Key presses, which occur before four minutes have passed, do not produce corn.  The bird receives corn for the first key press following the four-minute interval.  This is referred to as a fixed-interval (FI) schedule.

Pigeons quickly learn when there is an opportunity for feedback or reinforcement.  Experienced pigeons will vigorously peck just before the conclusion of the four-minute interval (Ferster & Skinner, 1957).  Following corn delivery, the birds go on vacation.  They flap their wings, preen, and do what pigeons do.

The highly trained pigeon is all too similar to the highly trained student.  Students intensely work just before the evaluation.  After taking a test, they go on a vacation from learning and do what students do.  Why do students exhibit such maladaptive behavior?  To a large extent, it is because many instructors do not understand the role of feedback.  Well-intentioned trainers often inadvertently teach students ineffective study habits.

The hypoactivity-hyperactivity study cycle can be broken once the instructor becomes aware of its cause.  Frequently scheduled evaluations will partially reduce the detrimental effects of cramming.  Scheduling evaluations at unpredictable intervals also yields consistent study patterns.  Probably, the best cycle breaking strategy is to use media that integrate evaluation into the training session.

Global versus Specific Feedback
Grades, rankings, and comparisons to previously established standards are common types of global feedback.  The purpose of these indices is to provide a measure of the soldier's overall knowledge or skill.  The problem with global measures is that they are not prescriptive.  For instance, a trainer may assign a "D" to a student's test or a soldier may be ranked near the bottom of her class.  The global metric tells the student and soldier that they need to alter their behaviors, but it does not indicate how to make particular improvements.  A complete feedback system must include specific directions designed to ameliorate performance deficits.
 
 
 

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